Neighborhood leaders from across San Diego say a city proposal to spur housing construction by wiping out parking requirements is unrealistic and too aggressive for a city that lacks quality transit and was built for automobiles.

The leaders said this week that Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who is proposing the new policy in areas near transit hubs, has exaggerated how quickly a large number of San Diegans will give up their cars and opt to commute by trolley, bus, bicycle or on foot.

"We’ve been building out this city based on the automobile," said Barry Schultz, of Carmel Valley, during a joint meeting of community planning group leaders from more than 40 communities. "Now we want to shift it to this Utopian idea that we can get around the city without a car. The reality is that we can't."

Faulconer and his staff stress that the new policy wouldn’t mean all new housing projects would lack parking spots, only projects where housing developers are confident they can find tenants or buyers who don’t want or need reserved parking. Developers wouldn’t risk millions of dollars building projects without parking spots unless market studies show there is adequate demand in a particular neighborhood for housing without parking, they said.

"An increasing number of young professionals are looking to decrease car ownership and reliance," said Alyssa Muto, a deputy director in the city’s Planning Department.

The proposal is based on a similar relaxation of parking requirements in Seattle and Portland, two cities also built for automobiles where officials have managed to significantly reduce car ownership in recent years.

The main goal is to help solve the city’s affordable housing crisis by reducing developers’ cost.

Developers now must include either one or two parking spots per housing unit, depending on the number of bedrooms and other factors. That spikes project construction costs by $35,000 to $90,000 per unit.

The proposal wouldn’t retroactively wipe out parking requirements for existing housing projects; it would only apply to new construction.

The vast majority of projects in every city neighborhood would still provide parking for residents. The proposal would affect only neighborhoods within a half mile of a trolley or a high-frequency bus route that is already operating or will operate within five years.

Faulconer says the policy would help San Diego meet the goals of its legally binding climate action plan, which requires the city to sharply reduce the number of people commuting by car within the next 15 years.

A small number of neighborhood leaders endorsed the mayor’s plan, calling it a bold but reasonable proposal that could help the city move toward multiple goals.

"It feels drastic, but this really is about providing options to individuals who don't wish to own a car," said Jonathan Frankel, representing Mission Valley. "I think this will be a very incremental change."

Frankel said the policy will likely have more impact in urban neighborhoods with quality transit, bike lanes and nearby job opportunities, because that’s where developers are likely to take advantage of softer parking regulations.

In addition, the proposal would require developers who don’t include parking spots to pay for transportation amenities, such as wider sidewalks, transit passes for residents and on-site bicycle repair stations.

The vast majority of neighborhood leaders criticized the proposal during the joint meeting, which took place Tuesday night at City Hall.

Wally Wulfeck, of the Scripps Ranch Community Planning Group, said most San Diego neighborhoods lack the transit necessary to support the proposal.

“Just say ‘yes’ to urban ghettos," Wulfeck told his colleagues.

"Transit has to come first -- density first gives you slums, not quality of life. Most of the residents around me, if they wanted to live in Manhattan, they would."

Gary Weber, the leader from Normal Heights, agreed.

"Eliminating parking and telling us that we'll use transit, when San Diego is a city that really doesn't have a great transit system compared to cities that do have great transit systems, is a little crazy," Weber said.

Other neighborhood leaders said they also have significant concerns about the goal of spurring high-density housing construction across the city.

"A lot of folks in Clairemont are very scared about up-zoning and density," said Nicholas Reed, who represents that neighborhood.

Jose Reynoso, representing neighborhoods near San Diego State, noted that transit commutes typically include a lengthy walk to a final destination.

“One of the things that’s missing in San Diego is the mindset to walk more than a quarter of a mile,” Reynoso said.

Leaders from Rancho Bernardo, Sabre Springs and Carmel Mountain Ranch said walking is nearly impossible in their neighborhoods because of dangerous, fast-moving traffic on local parkways.

The only neighborhood leaders endorsing the mayor’s proposal, other than Mission Valley, were representatives of North Park, Pacific Beach and Tierrasanta.

A majority of the joint committee of neighborhood leaders voted to recommend the city soften the proposal by making it a short-term “pilot project” and exempting all beach communities because of parking scarcity there.

Their amended proposal would require city officials annually analyze how many housing developers choose to include no parking spots in their projects and how the change affects parking scarcity, car ownership and housing affordability.

David Moty, chairman of the joint committee and leader of the Kensington/Talmadge Community Planning Group, said the amended proposal was prompted by concerns that city officials are moving too fast.

“I don’t think we will see wholesale abandonment of the car in the near future,” he said. “And I’m very concerned the people who move into these apartments will keep their cars.”

Faulconer used his annual State of the City address on Tuesday to lay...

The backlash from neighborhood leaders isn’t unexpected. Faulconer said in his annual State of the City speech last week that neighborhood opposition is the biggest hurdle to San Diego solving its housing crisis.

“Obstructionists must never again be able to halt the housing that San Diego needs,” he said. “We must change from a city that shouts ‘not in my back yard’ to one that proclaims ‘yes in my backyard.’”

The Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the proposal next Thursday and the city council will take it up Feb. 25.